Image format
What is a .png file?
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a lossless image format. It keeps every pixel exactly as saved and supports transparency, which is why logos, icons and screenshots use it.
The trade-off is size: a photo saved as PNG is many times heavier than the same photo as JPG or WebP. PNG opens in every browser, phone and operating system.
fileclay opens and writes PNG
PNG vs JPG vs WebP
| PNG | JPG | WebP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | No | Yes |
| Animation | APNG | No | Yes |
| Color depth | Up to 16 bits | 8 bits | 8 bits |
| Support | Everywhere | Everywhere | All modern browsers |
| Best for | Graphics, screenshots | Photos | Images on the web |
Photo, 1600 × 1067
Screenshot, 1280 × 800
Encoded in Chromium, with JPG and WebP at quality 80. PNG keeps every pixel; the other two discard detail.
When to use PNG
Good for
- Logos and icons with a transparent background
- Screenshots, where text has to stay sharp
- Images you’ll edit and save again, with no quality loss each time
Not a good fit
- Photos on a website: JPG or WebP are far lighter
- Large photos sent by email
- Press printing: PNG has no CMYK, so use TIFF or PDF
How to open .png files
| Platform | App | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Photos | Built in |
| macOS | Preview, Photos | Built in |
| iPhone, iPad | Photos, Files | Built in |
| Android | Google Photos, Gallery | Built in |
| Browsers | Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge | Drag the file into a tab |
| Editors | Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity Photo, Paint | Opens and saves |
Convert PNG files
How to identify a .png file
Every PNG starts with the same eight bytes, whatever its name says. That settles it when a file has the wrong extension.
It’s read here, in your browser. Only the first bytes.
Your file
What comes after
Questions about PNG
Is PNG lossless?
Yes. The pixels you decode are identical to the ones saved, however many times the file is opened and saved again.
Why are PNG files so large?
Lossless compression has to keep all the detail, and photos are full of it. In our test a 1600 × 1067 photo took 2.6 MB as PNG and 180 KB as JPG at quality 80.
Does PNG support transparency?
Yes. Each pixel can have its own opacity, so soft edges and shadows blend with any background. JPG has no transparency at all.
Can a PNG be animated?
Yes, as APNG, which keeps the .png extension. The third edition of the W3C specification, from 2025, includes it, and modern browsers play it.
Is PNG better than JPG?
For graphics, text and screenshots, yes: edges stay clean and transparency works. For photos, no: JPG looks almost the same at a fraction of the size.
Can PNG files store Exif data?
Yes, in the eXIf chunk, although many apps remove it when they save.